Monday, December 24, 2012

Ahhh, feeling much better! Of course, this week hubby and Daughter 2 both got sick, but both are on the mend, too. Pneumonia is certainly not fun! Glad it's gone just in time for Christmas.

I took a shot of the Gee's Bend quilt in our backyard before I packed it up. One last look....

In non quilty news, I've always wanted to learn how to knit socks. (Why? I don't know! I'm not even a knitter!) So last week I signed up for a class on Craftsy. At first I was all thumbs! I mean, really, 5 knitting needles at once??!!

But I finally started getting the hang of it....

and before I knew it, I had a sock toe! I still have a long way to go - must still learn how to do the heel.

I highly recommend the Craftsy classes. They have knitting, crochet, Tunisian crochet, quilting, jewelry making, bread making, etc., etc. And many of their classes are on sale, but you'd better hurry because the sale ends today.

Here's a little discovery I made recently at the grocery store - it REALLY helped me survive the pneumonia. Oh, this is SO good. But don't do as I did the first time I ate it: read the directions. You're only supposed to eat the mushrooms and corn - the other vegetables (for flavoring only) are meant to be discarded. Haha - thought something in there was mighty chewy! :) I found this soup on the ethnic aisle, not the soup aisle.

Check here to see a last minute Christmas gift I made yesterday. You might notice on the sidebar that I'm now accepting pre-orders for Quick and Easy Hexie Quilts, due out in Spring. Yay!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Pneumonia. Not the best present I've ever received. I'm now the proud owner of a nebulizer which I use to breath in helpful meds. Plus strong antibiotics. Plus cough medicine. But how can I complain with the recent school shootings in Connecticut? I can not and will not.

As I lay awake coughing last night, and struggling with the need to do SOMETHING to help, it came to me. St. Jude Children's Hospital. I made a donation today. Perhaps it will help some little child who is struggling to survive an illness they don't deserve.

I urge you to do the same. How about $20? One dollar for every child lost at Sandy Hook. Think you can't do anything? You can. Go here.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Oh what a feeling, dancing on ceiling....Sing along with me! Such a good feeling to finish a quilt!
Not the best picture, but it will have to do today. It's lying in the floor being blocked, pinned to the carpeting in a spare bedroom.

And the label! I had a lot I wanted to put on there, but didn't want to write a book on the backside of the quilt. So I made a QR Code with the info I wanted to include and printed it on the label. If you want to try this, it's simple: just go here, and fill in your information in the box.

If you have a smart phone, you can download a free App called RL Classic and read what I've imbedded. I will definitely do this on more quilts!

Here's what I'll be working on tonight: a tiny little quiltlet from Dad's shirts. I'll be giving this to my Mom for Christmas, since I won't be able to finish her larger shirt quilt by then - hopefully this will be a good stand-in!

I didn't make a basket block yesterday, but I did sew! I did lots of quilting on the Gee's Bend quilt. But it's just boring straight lines, so I'll wait until I finish it to share another photo.

But here are a few photos to show what's been going on around here. I was invited to a small get-together to decorate gingerbread houses. BUT, we had to bake our own! In the past, I've always bought those kits that come with the house pieces already baked and cut. So I was a bit intimidated to try this. We were provided a recipe and the house plans. And I must say, it was easier than I expected.

We all brought different candies to the "party." Here's my finished product - oh, this was so much fun! And it was REALLY fun to do this with a group of friends. I'm so blessed by the new friends I've met here in Auburn, and how they include me in their fun plans.

One evening we attended the Victorian Front Porch Christmas in historic Opelika. We walked along 10 blocks of Victorian houses decorated for the holidays. Each home had a Victorian figure on the porch. Along the walk we came across a hand bell concert, some carolers, a children's choir, and a bassoon concert. We were served wassail and cookies.

Here's an example of one of the front porches. I really enjoyed this adventure - we'll definitely do this every year!

And look who else was enjoying that evening - not our doggies (they were left at home)! I'd never seen a doggie stroller before!

Yesterday I did get LOTS of Christmas shopping done. I hit Kohl's, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, Hobby Lobby, and Books-a-Million. My car was filled to the brim! Only a couple of small things left to buy, plus waiting for some things from on-line shopping to arrive on my doorstep.

Today: MORE QUILTING! Ready to finish Gee's Bend! I want to get it in the mail by Saturday at the latest. I hope you have a wonderful and productive day.

And here was Friday's group shot. Yes, these stripes look better - see the bottom of the quilt? Still not sure about those solid squares. Maybe they're too pastel? Or maybe they don't work at all? The jury's still out on that decision.

I have lots more photos to share of various things, so expect future posts to be photo heavy. Lot's going on around here! Today's goals: some Christmas shopping, quilting on the Gee's Bend quilt (got to get it done to ship for a Christmas present), and maybe some hexies.....

Friday, December 7, 2012

Magnolia leaves??? Maybe I'm officially cuckoo....but, I saw this idea somewhere. Wish I remembered where. I just kept shoving leaves under my presser foot and minutes later I had a lovely live garland!

The mantel looks oh-so-much-better now, I do believe. Since our TV is mounted over the fireplace, there is only so much mantel decorating we can do. I think this well become a yearly thing. And it only took about 5-10 minutes.

As promised, here are a few shots from our guild party last night at Flavin Glover's house. This photo was taken from the stairs, looking down on the family room. Do you see that U-shaped desk behind the sofa? Click on the picture to see bigger. That's where Flavin sews - yes, right in the middle of the family room! See the closet on the back wall? That's where she stores her stash. How convenient!

Everyone brought finger food - what a spread! Flavin provided drinks. Her husband said the blessing and I really enjoyed chatting with him for a few minutes. He's just as nice as Flavin.

Here's a little vignette inside their home: one of her quilts hanging with more small quilts artfully arranged on chairs. We were free to wander through the house. Every bed had a Flavin Glover quilt on it - quilts I've see before in books and on the internet. What a thrill it was to see them all in her home.

I spotted these little whittled trees on her kitchen cupboard. I have a feeling her husband made them. I think I'm in love with these little trees.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Here's my basket-a-day. I've noticed I need to add more lights to the quilt, so I pulled a light peach for the background - really it's a flesh tone. I was having so much fun....

I made two more! Both of these have that wonderful Kaffe pencil print background.

And the group shot! Every day I rearrange the blocks a bit on the design wall, trying to balance the color and value. I can see now that I need to do more rearranging. I can't tell you how helpful it is when making a quilt to take a photograph and look at it on the computer. You can see much more this way than just standing back and looking.

Do you see what else I added? I placed a couple of sold blocks at the bottom, along with a striped filler triangle. Trying to figure out the edges of the quilt. When Alex Anderson made a quilt like this, she used nine-patches around the outside edge. I'll stare at it awhile longer before I decide.

And the group shot - they're really spreading out! 31 blocks done! I'm thinking I'll be finished making basket blocks for this quilt around the end of the year...

Which brings me to the question....want to make another block-a-day with me starting in January? I make SO MANY quilts at the same time - most of them are quilts for a future book or magazine. What a pleasure it is to take a few minutes a day to make ONE BLOCK - just one! Before I know it, I've made a quilt that is purely for FUN!

You can make the same block I'm making (not sure what my next one will be yet!), or pick your own block - even a simple nine-patch! And once a week we'll have a linky so everyone can share their progress! Sounds like fun to me! Are you in? Let me know!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I have been delighted to make a photo play quilt design of a gorgeous cavalier king charles doggy. It is a quilt that will be auctioned to raise money for the rescue group that works with this breed. I would like to thank you for your book, Fabric Photo Play. It has been a wonderful guide to help me produce a such a piece that is so close to my heart.

The auction if this weekend in New Orleans at the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Dog Show. Thanks for sharing, Becky, and I hope the quilt raised LOTS of money!!!

I decided the medallion wasn't happening. I like it better like this after all! So I'll keep on basket making 'till the cows come home....or maybe until the end of the year?

Hubby's car is in the shop getting a new bumper. So I was without a car yesterday and will be again today. (Hubby is driving mine - a guy's got to get to work.) But don't worry about me - I've done nothing but SEW, SEW, SEW!

I have hundreds (320, to be exact) hexies to appliqué on a quilt. Relaxing work. Especially if you watch Netflix while you work. Prison Break. I'm hooked on it. I also watched a sappy Christmas movie yesterday while I stitched 'cause I like me some sappy Christmas movies. I'm weird like that.

Last night hubby and I headed out to pick up some dinner ('cause I didn't cook!). Somehow we ended up at the airport on the tarmac amongst throngs of people to greet our team's newly hired football coach. Because my hubby is a avid fan. And when you live in a college town, you're there to support. Yes, we finally got some dinner.

I have another special post planned for later today, so check back in. I'll be sharing a special quilt!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

And then I decided I didn't like what I saw on my design wall. So I played and rearranged and came up with this:

If you look closely, you'll see that all these basket blocks (except two) have a print background with a solid basket. I'm thinking of putting solid block in between - checker board effect. This will leave me with a bunch of solid background/print basket blocks to put elsewhere on the quilt. Hmmm. Still not sure about this. I'll just keep making daily baskets and it will come to me.

I have a PILE of hand sewing to do tonight in front of the TV. I realized today that I have TWO secret projects in progress, plus the basket project, the Gee's Bend quilt, and the Kantha vest. Wondering if I should concentrate on one at time? Nah....I seem to have a short attention span these days. I enjoy having lots of irons in the fire!

Hubby and I enjoyed a LONG walk this afternoon. The doggies got a bath - ahh, they smell good. I have their bedding in the washing machine. They should sleep well tonight!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Have you ever had one of those days? One full of ups and downs? Today was the day for me.....

It started out well enough. I made two baskets, coincidentally both pink.

Group shot: 28 blocks done! In looking back at the blog photos yesterday, I'm now thinking that I liked the bigger gap in the middle better than this one. I have a feeling this quilt has more evolving to do....

Here's where the day went downhill fast. I left to run a couple of errands. Looked down for a mere second......BOOM....rear ended a pick up truck! And in hubby's car! My car is our "working" vehicle for hauling, towing, etc. It's full of dings and scrapes. Hubby's car is was pristine. Now it has a hole in the front bumper from the truck's trailer hitch. Luckily I have a wonderful hubby who was more concerned about me than the car.

The day did get better again:

Low Country Boil at our house tonight! Yum! And fire in the fire pit with marshmallows to toast. And Smores. Yes, the day got much better at the end.